Automatic rifle.



y g g 171 f "f Charleff #1923072,

0. A. NELSON & G. W. LANG.

AUTOMATIC RIFLE.

APPLICATION FILED DEG.18. 1912.

1,100,766. Patented June 23, 1914.

3 SHBETSSHEET l.

WITNESSES G. A. NELSON & G. W. LANG.

AUTOMATIC RIFLE. APPLIOATIONTILBD 13110.18, 1912.

Patentd June 23,1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTORS, Charla HLang WITNESSES ATTORNEY.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co..wAsH1Nu'roN. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFTCE.

CHARLES A. NELSON AND CHARLES W. LANG, OF UTICA, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS TO SAVAGE ARMS COMPANY, OF U'IICA, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

AUTOMATIC RIFLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 23, 1914.

Application filed December 18. 1912. Serial No. 737,443.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, CHARLES A. NELSON and CHARLES WV. LANG, citizens of the United States, residing at Utica, in the county of Oneida and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Rifles, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a gun having many of the desirable features of the gun set forth in the Savage Patent N 0. 839,517 but possessing, in addition to improvements which increase the simplicity of construction, durability, stability, safety and general efficiency of a gun of that kind, the quality of being semi-automatic, that is, adapted by the back-pressure of the charge on explosion, to withdraw and eject the empty shell, breech a fresh cartridge and cock the firing mechanism.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein the invention is fully illustrated, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved gun; Figs. 2 and 3 are inside elevations of the stock and barrel sections, respectively, of the receiver and of the parts of the mechanism respectively associated with them; Fig. 4 shows the receiver-including part of the gun partly in right side elevation and partly in section; Fig. 5 shows said part of the gun partly in left side elevation and partly in section; Fig. 6 shows the forearm, including part of the gun partly in side elevation and partly in section; Fig. 7 is a plan of portions of the receiver, action slide and the means for returning the action slide to its normal position; Fig. 8 is a plan of the rear part of the forearm; Fig. 9 is an inside elevation of the stock part of the receiver and the mechanism associated therewith, the latter appearing in a different position from that illustrated in Figs. 2, 1 and 5; Fig. 10 is a sectional view on line wac of Fig. 9, looking forward. Fig. 11 shows the trigger in side elevation and plan; Fig. 12 shows the sear in side and rear elevation; Fig. 13 shows the sear-trip in side and front elevation; Fig. 14 is a perspective view of the cartridge stop or abutment and breech-bolt; Fig. 15 shows the magazine platform block ing the advance of the breech-bolt after effecting ejection of the shell of the last cartridge in the magazine; Fig. 16 shows the hammer, trigger, scar and sear-trip in the position they occupy on re-cocking but belar to that in the patent fore the finger pressure on the trigger has been relaxed; and, Fig. 17 is a detail of the e ector.

The receiver or frame, substantially simito Savage abovementioncd, comprises a stock section a and a barrel section a which lie face to face when assembled, being interlocked by the mortise and tenon connections I) and 0 (Figs. 2, 3, 7 and 9) and held together by the sin gle thumb-screw cl entered through the section a into section a. f is the stock and g the barrel. it is the magazine, of the box type, suitably held in the receiver by the latch z substantially the same as in the said Savage patent.

The action-slide is a bar guided in a straight slot is in the inner face of receiversection a and projecting through the front wall thereof; its rear end has a lateral knob Z for manually retracting the action slide, said knob being carried by a pivoted notched part or latch m of the action slide which moves in a slot n (Fig. 1) in receiver-section a and may engage with its hook m a notch m at the rear end of said slot to hold back the action slide when depressed against a spring 0, and theforward end of said action-slide carries the lateral collar 32 traversed by the pin 9. Directly under the barrel is a tubular spring-case r penetrating and guiding said collar and having longitudinal slots 8 in which pin 9 plays, the rear end of said spring-case being received by the front wall of receiversection a and the forward end supported by the stirrup 2? having a dove-tailed base u entered into a lateral similarly shaped slot 0 cut in the under side of the barrel; A spiral spring w, housed in the case and interposed between the pin 9 and a suitable abutment m at the rear end of the case, presses the action slide forward. The forearm a, suitably hollowed out to lit the under side of the barrel and house the spring-case and stirrup t and afford the necessary clearance to the action-slide latch m, is secured in place in a way calculated to produce a simple, stout and readily asse1n-- bled construction, thus: It has a rearward tenon e fitting a mortise 2 formed in the front wall of the receiver, the vertical surfaces of said tenon and mortise being curved in plan (Figs. 7 and 8) so that when the forearm is held in position by the screws 3 and 4 the joint thus produced prevents lat- 10 ent, being guided by the side walls of the receiver, having a cheek-piece or wall 8 on one side resting on the action-slide (which, being thicker than slot 70 is deep, projects therefrom) and abutted above by the top wall of the receiver; it has a firing pin 9, an ex tractor l0 coactive with projections 10' to hold the cartridge and, on the side thereof relatively opposite to said cheek-piece, a longitudinal slot 11, and is otherwise formed and operates the same as in the said Savage patent (excepting that it lacks the meansfor blocking it against recoil), the slot 11 being adapted to receive the acting end of the ejector 12 which springs inwardly to throw the extracted shell out of the ejection aperture 13 in the receiver when the receding breech-bolt, by its extractor, clears the shell from the barrel. The breech-bolt has a downwardly depending tail 7 fitting between the lugs 5 and 6 on the action-slide.

The ejector 12 is a lever having its fulcrum formed by a hook 12 (Fig. 17) en gaging in an annular channel 12 formed 1n the lnner side of the head of a screw 14;

the lever and screw-head are received in a communicating slot 12 and countersink 13 and a spring 15 in the slot presses the free or acting end of the lever outwardly, tending to hold it to the limit of outward movement thereof which is afforded by'the contact of the inner end 12 of the lever against the bottom of the countersink.

The top wall of the receiver has a recess or chamber 16 formed immediately back of the barrel-breech, the object of which is to afford ample blow-back relief for the escaping products of combustion and gases on firing, which would otherwise be unduly confined in the relatively limited space formed by the top and sides of the receiver chamber, the underlying magazine and its contents, the barrel-breech and front end of the breech-bolt and so interfere more or less with the free action of the parts and sooner or later foul the piece. For checking the fresh cartridge rising from the magazine at a position in line with and guiding it into the barrel breech we employ the stop 17 shown inFigs. 3, 4L, 5, Hand 15 which is a slender elastic metallic strip having parallel upstanding cheeks 18 secured in a slot 19 in the top wall of the receiver by a transverse pin 20 and a spoon-shaped free end 21, its

said spoon-shaped end traversing chamber 16 and being normally slightly below the level of the top of the bore so that on yielding to the upward pressure of the magazine spring it will occupy such a position relatively to the bore as then to perform its function properly as a guide to the cartridge in breeching the same. i

In order to insure the breech-bolt (which is the only freely removable element of the mechanism) remaining properly assembled with the receiver section a on taking down we provide the memberl'? with a lug 22 which is received bythe groove 22 at the top of the breech-bolt. j

The hammer 23, having the head 24: to impinge against the firing-pin and, the cam face 25 to receive the wiping action of the lug 6 on the action slide, in cockingthe hammer, and the spring-pressed thrust-bar 26 for the hammer are substantially the same.

as in said Savage patent.

The trigger 27, in the, form of" a rearwardly open housing, is fulcrumed at its mid-upper portion on the pin 28, being protected by tie usual guard 29 afiording a backing for the magazine. On the pin 28 is fulcrumed the sear 3Ov having the, forwardly, rearwardly and long downwardly projecting arms 30, 30 and 30. 'On a pin 31 in the trigger is fulcrumed the sear-trip 32 having the forwardly curved upper arm 32 and the downwardly, projecting arm 32, and on its upper arm the shoulder 32 to engage under the end of arm 30 of the sear. A spring 33 interposed between the lower arms of the sear and sear-trip tends to turn them in opposite directions on their fulcra. The ham-V lner has a cooking notch 23 to be engaged by the arm 30 of the sear, and, back of said notch, a cam-surface 23 to be engaged by the arm 32 of the sear-trip, and, forward of said notch, the concentric surface 23. A plate spring 3 1- pressing downwardly on the lockingbar 3.5, suitably guided in a slot in the thrust-bar 26 and stepped on a crosspin 36 in the rearwardly projectingarm of the trigger, through the thrust-bar forces the trigger forward, normally holding the upper edge of its front wall 27 in contact with the sear arm 30, which rests against the hammer the locking-bar (movable upwardly under the influence of the trigger and also forward and backward pivotally' on the cross-pin 36) is received by a slot 37 in the receiver and is moved forward or back ward to bring one of its stepped shoulders 35 under the shoulder 35 at the rear of said slot by the usual slide 38 which is penetrated by a stud 39 on the locking-bar. The action of these parts is as follows: The parts being in the cooked position (Fig. 4:) rearward movement of the trigger causes the sear trip, whose fulcrum is in the trigger, to tri the sear (fulcrumed on thestationary pin 28) so that the hammer falls; spring 33 meanwhile holds both the sear and sear trip against the hammer and as the hammer falls its cam 23 wipes the sear trip out of engagement at its shoulder 32" with the sear arm 30", while the sear arm 30 wipes over the concentric surface 23 of the hammer.

If (there being no charge in the gun) the hammer remains down, as in Fig. 9, the trigger will at this time be held from-any lost motion, being retained against the sear arm 30, which itself abuts the hammer, by the shoulder 35 of locking bar 35 engaging shoulder 35. If, recoil occurring from an exploded charge, the hammer is thrown back, the sear, being clear of the sear trip and hence of the trigger, is free to act independently of the trigger to engage the hammer notch 23 and cook the hammer al though (as will usually be the case) the operators finger has not allowed the full return of the trigger (Fig. 16) which, when it does move forward, brings the sear trip opposite the low part of cam 23 whereby it will be allowed to again assume dogging relation to the sear.

In the cocked position of the parts the trigger may be locked by moving the slide 38 rearward so as to bring shoulder 35 on the locking bar under the shoulder 35.

The stud 39 is sufiiciently longer than the slide is thick so that with the trigger forward (hammer cocked) its extremity is approximately flush with the top of the slide; with the trigger back (hammer down) the stud projects, indicating to the operators thumb the uncooked condition of the piece.

The magazine It has the usual platform 40 to elevate the cartridges contained therein and to lock the breeching movement of the breech-bolt upon the magazine becoming empty (Fig. 15), the same as in the patent to Savage No. 885868.

Operation: The operation will be apparent to those familiar with this class of guns. To breech the first cartridge in the magazine the action slide j is retracted and then allowed to return under pressure of spring to, forcing the cartridge (which has been meanwhile pressed by the platform 40 into the grip of the devices 10 10 on the breechbolt) into the breech. Upon the gun being now fired the recoil of the breechbolt, through the action-slide, throws back the hammer which is immediately cocked, while the spent shell is extracted and ejected and, on the return of the action-slide and breechbolt to their normal positions, a fresh cartridge breeched. When the last cartridge has been exploded the breech-bolt and action-slide will be looked back by the platform 40 rising and blocking the return of the breech-bolt as illustrated in Fig 15, thus indicating that the piece is empty. To now recharge the piece, the action-slide is locked back by the latch m, the empty magazine withdrawn and a loaded one substituted, whereupon, the latch being released, the breech-bolt will in advancing pick off the uppermost cartridge and breech it in the usual way, ready for firing.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In combination, the receiver, the hammer movable therein and having a cooking notch, a sear engageable with said cocking notch, and means for tripping the sear including a sear-trip normally engaged with the sear but hammer-tripped out of engagement therewith and a common means to hold said sear-trip engaged with the sear and the sear against the hammer.

2. In combination, the receiver, the hammer movable therein and having a cooking notch and a cam, a sear engageable with said cocking notch and means for tripping the sear including a sear-trip normally en gaged with the sear but cam-tripped out of engagement therewith and a common means to hold said sear-trip engaged with the sear and the sear against the hammer.

3. In combination, the receiver, the hammer movable therein and having a cooking notch and a cam, a trigger movable in the receiver, a sear movable in the receiver and engageable with the cocking notch, a seartrip movable in the trigger and normally engaged with the sear but adapted to be tripped out of engagement therewith by the hammer cam, and a common means to hold said sear-trip engaged with the sear and the sear against the hammer.

4:. In combination, the receiver, the hammer movable therein and having a cocking notch, a hollow trigger movable in the receiver, and trigger-released means for maintaining the hammer cocked housed in the trigger and having a part thereof movable in the receiver.

5. In combination, the receiver, the hammer movable therein and having a cooking notch, a hollow trigger movable in the receiver, and trigger-released means for maintaining the hammer cocked housed in the trigger and having a part thereof movable in the trigger.

6. In combination, the receiver, the hammer movable therein and having a cooking notch, a hollow trigger movable in the receiver, a, sear movable in the receiver and engageable with said cocking notch, and a hammer-controlled sear-trip movable relatively to and supported by the trigger and actuated thereby to trip the sear, said sear and sear-trip being housed in the trigger.

7. In combination, the receiver, the hammer movable therein and having a stepped surface forming a cooking notch, a sear engaging, and movable in the receiver to clear, said notch, means, including a trigger movable relatively toward and from the hammer, for releasing the sear, said sear projecting between the hammer and trigger and abutting the hammer and abutted by the trigger, and yielding means opposing the releaslng movement of the trlgger.

8. In combination, the receiver, the ham mer movable therein and having a cooking notch, a trigger, trigger-released means engageable with the cooking notch to hold the hammer cocked, and a stop against which the trigger bears when retracted, said means being interposable between the hammer and trigger in the released position of the for mer and When the latter abuts said stop and acting to lock the trigger against said stop.

9. In combination, the receiver, the hammer movable therein and having a stepped surface forming a cocking notch, a sear engaging, and movable in the receiver toclear, said notch, means, including a trigger movable relatively toward and fro-m'the hammer, for releasing the sear, said sear projectin between the hammer and tri 'er and abutting the former and abutted by the latter, and means to stop the trigger in the sear-releasing movement thereof substantially at a point in such movement where the same Will abut the sear and the sear simultaneously abut the higher portion of said stepped surface of the hammer in the released position of the latter.

10. A gun having a cockable hammer, a sear to hold the hammer in cocked position and a trigger to actuate the sear, said trigger being movable on retraction against a fixed part of the gun and said sear being movable on release of the hammer into interposed relation to and mutual contact With the trigger and hammer and thereby holding the former retracted.

11. In combination, the barrel, the receiver, the firing mechanism including the hammer and trigger each pivoted in the receiver and also having means to look back the trigger on retraction thereof and consequent release of the hammer, and the spring-pressed member normally holding the trigger in its forward position and adapted to abut the receiver on rearward movement of the trigger to limit such movement.

In testimony whereof We aiiix our signatures in presence of two Witnesses.

CHARLES A. NELSON. CHAS. W. LANG.

Witnesses:

Joe. A. DAVIS, Joe. G. SLIKER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, DI G. 

